Eurystheus enjoined upon the hero a succession of desperate undertakings, which are called the twelve "Labors of Hercules." The first was the combat with the lion that infested the valley of Nemea, the skin of which Hercules was ordered to bring to Mycena. After using in vain his club and arrows against the lion, Hercules strangled the animal with his hands, and returned, carrying its carcass on his shoulders; but Eurystheus, frightened at the sight, and at this proof of the prodigious strength of the hero, ordered him to deliver the account of his exploits, in future, outside the town. a water His second labor was the slaughter of the Hydra, serpent that ravaged the country of Argos, and dwelt in a swamp near the well of Amymone. It had nine heads, of which the midIdle one was immortal. Hercules struck off the heads with his club; but in the place of each despatched, two new ones appeared. At last, with the assistance of his faithful nephew Iolaüs, he burned away the heads of the Hydra, and buried the ninth, which was immortal, under a rock. His third labor was the capture of a boar that haunted Mount Erymanthus, in Arcadia. The adventure was, in itself, successful. But on the same journey Hercules made the friendship of the centaur Pholus, who receiving him hospitably, poured out for him without stint the choicest wine that the centaurs possessed. As a consequence, Hercules became involved in a broil with the other centaurs of the mountain. Unfortunately, his friend Pholus, drawing one of the arrows of Hercules from a brother centaur, wounded himself therewith, and died of the poison. The fourth labor of Hercules was the capture of a wonderful stag of golden antlers and brazen hoofs, that ranged the hills of Cerynea, between Arcadia and Achaia. His fifth labor was the destruction of the Stymphalian birds, which with cruel beaks and sharp talons harassed the inhabitants of the valley of Stymphalus, devouring many of them. His sixth labor was the cleaning of the Augean stables. Augeas, king of Elis, had a herd of three thousand oxen, whose stalls had not been cleansed for thirty years. Hercules bringing the rivers Alpheüs and Peneüs through them, purified them thoroughly in one day. an His seventh labor was the overthrow of the Cretan bull, awful but beautiful brute, at once a gift and a curse bestowed by Neptune upon Minos of Crete.1 This monster Hercules brought to Mycena. His eighth labor was the removal of the horses of Diomedes, king of Thrace. These horses subsisted on human flesh, were swift and fearful. Diomedes, attempting to retain them, was killed by Hercules and given to the horses to devour. They were, then, delivered to Eurystheus; but, escaping, they roamed the hills of Arcadia, till the wild beasts of Apollo tore them to pieces. His ninth labor was of a more delicate character. Admeta, the daughter of Eurystheus, desired the girdle of the queen of the Amazons, and Eurystheus ordered Hercules to get it. The Amazons were a nation dominated by warlike women; and in their hands were many cities. It was their custom to bring up only the female children, whom they hardened by martial discipline; the boys were either despatched to the neighboring nations or put to death. Hippolyta, the queen, received Hercules kindly, and consented to yield him the girdle; but Juno, taking the form of an Amazon, persuaded the people that the strangers were carry 1 § 149. ing off their queen. They instantly armed, and beset the ship. Whereupon Hercules, thinking that Hippolyta had acted treacherously, slew her, and taking her girdle, made sail homeward. The tenth task enjoined upon him was to capture for Eurystheus the oxen of Geryon, a monster with three bodies, who dwelt in the island Erythea (the red), so called because it lay in the west, under the rays of the setting sun. This description is thought to apply to Spain, of which Geryon was king. After traversing various countries, Hercules reached at length the frontiers of Libya and Europe, where he raised the two mountains of Abyla and Calpe as monuments of his progress, the Pillars of Hercules; or, according to another account, rent one mountain into two, and left half on each side, forming the Straits of Gibraltar. The oxen were guarded by the giant Eurytion and his two-headed dog; but Hercules killed the warders, and conveyed the oxen in safety to Eurystheus. One of the most difficult labors was the eleventh, the robbery of the golden apples of the Hesperides. Hercules did not know where to find them; but after various adventures, arrived at Mount Atlas, in Africa. Since Atlas was the father of the Hesperides, Hercules thought he might through him obtain the apples. The hero, accordingly, taking the burden of the heavens on his own shoulders,1 sent Atlas to seek the apples. The giant returned with them, and proposed to take them himself to Eurystheus. "Even so," said Hercules; "but, pray, hold this load for me a moment, while I procure a pad to ease my shoulders." Unsuspectingly the giant resumed the burden of the heavens. Hercules took the apples. 1 Atlas and the heavens, § 136. His twelfth exploit was to fetch Cerberus from the lower world. To this end, he descended into Hades, accompanied by Mercury and Minerva. mission from Pluto to carry Cerberus to the upper air, provided he I could do it without the use of weapons. In spite of the monster's struggling, he seized him, held him fast, carried him to Eurystheus, and afterward restored him to the lower regions. While in Hades, Hercules, also, obtained the liberty of Theseus, his admirer and imitator, who had been detained there for an attempt at abducting Proserpine.1 Two other exploits not recorded among the twelve labors are the victories over Antæus and Cacus. Antæus, the son of Posidon and Gæa, was a giant and wrestler, whose strength was invincible so long as he remained in contact with his mother Earth. He compelled all strangers who came to his country to wrestle with him, on condition that if conquered, they should suffer death. Hercules encountered him, and finding that it was of no avail to throw him, — for he always rose with renewed strength from every fall, - lifted him up from the earth, and strangled him in the air. Later writers tell of an army of Pygmies which, finding Hercules asleep after his defeat of Antæus, made preparations to 1 § 156. attack him, as if they were about to attack a city. But the hero, awakening, laughed at the little warriors, wrapped some of them up in his lion's skin, and carried them to Eurystheus. Cacus was a giant who inhabited a cave on Mount Aventine, and plundered the surrounding country. When Hercules was driving home the oxen of Geryon, Cacus stole part of the cattle, while the hero slept. That their footprints might not indicate where they had been driven, he dragged them backward by their tails to his cave. Hercules was deceived by the stratagem, and would have failed to find his oxen, had it not happened that while he was driving the remainder of the herd past the cave where the stolen ones were concealed, those within beginning to low, discovered themselves to him. Hercules promptly despatched the thief. Through most of these expeditions Hercules was attended by Iolaus, his devoted friend, the son of his half-brother Iphicles. § 140. On the later exploits of the hero, we can dwell but briefly. Having, in a fit of madness, killed his friend Iphitus, he was condemned for the offence to spend three years as the slave of Queen Omphale. He lived effeminately, wearing at times the dress of a woman, and spinning wool with the handmaidens of Omphale, while the queen wore his lion's skin. But during this period he contrived to engage in about as many adventures as would fill the life of an ordinary hero. He threw the bloodthirsty Lityerses into the river Mæander; he discovered the body of Icarus and buried it; he joined the company of Argonauts, who were on their way to Colchis to secure the golden fleece, and he captured the thievish gnomes, called Cercopes.* In the Argonautic adventure he was attended by a lad, Hylas, whom he tenderly loved, and on whose account he deserted the expedition in Mysia. § 141. The Loss of Hylas.3 "... Never was Heracles apart from Hylas, not when midnoon was high in heaven, not when Dawn with her white horses speeds upwards to the dwell 1 Theocritus, Idyl X. Lang's translation. 2 § 150. 8 § 145. 4 See Commentary. 5 Theocritus, Idyl XIII. Lang's translation. |